Let them Eat Hummus!

When I started following a plant-based diet, I quickly learned that I needed a fall-back food. Something I could always “fall back on” if there was nothing else in the fridge, or I really didn’t feel like cooking. I have been eating hummus for as long as I can remember, but now it’s pretty much a daily staple for me. Hummus is one of those foods that has a long history, and disputed origin; while the word “hummus” is Arabic in origin, many different regions around the world have their own versions of the tasty dip, from North Africa, to the Middle East, along with Greece and Turkey.

Hummus is not only a great choice because of how healthy it is, (just go easy on the oil) but it’s also incredibly versatile so I don’t really get bored eating it every day. It’s a great base to add all sorts of additional flavours to spice things up. Some of my favourites include: roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant, beets, za’atar spices, and caramelized onions.

I have been experimenting with different recipes for years, but I have been using this one for a while now, and I seem to get pretty consistently good results.

Brad’s Famous Hummus

1 can of chickpeas

Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tbsp)

3 tbsp tahini

1 large clove of garlic

1 pinch of kosher salt

Drain water from chickpeas into a bowl and set aside. In a food processor, combine lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and 3 tbsp of chickpea water. Run on high until everything is well blended, and no chunks of garlic are visible. Dump in chickpeas and run the food processor, stopping periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Keep running until everything is well combined, and is a smooth consistency. If you want to add in any other flavours (i.e. roasted red peppers) do that now.

I’ve discovered that the key to getting a smooth texture is to combine all the ingredients before adding in the chickpeas… I don’t know why it works better, I just know that it does.